Minister of Natural Resources (Ministry of Natural Resources)

The Republic of Rwanda is currently going through a transformation in which it has managed to position itself among the top 3 best countries to do business. What needs to be done in order to maintain this growth?

It is true that there has been an evident growth within the last years, but we still need to work hard and to reinforce what has been achieved up to date in order to go to the next level. I believe development is about building on what has already been achieved, bringing in new ideas and reforms to keep adapting to the market.

Now is the time to go beyond the point where we currently are, updating technologies, attracting investment and not staying in a comfort zone.

The Natural Resources sector is one of the most representatives in the country with the aim of ensuring and conserving the environment. However, to really exploit its potential it is essential to invest. Why is Rwanda an attractive destination for investors, specifically on this sector?

Our ministry’s sector compiles various subsectors, namely environment, lands, mining, water and forestry. When we talk about investment opportunities, each of these subsectors has specific areas that can be actually exploited.

On one hand, we have the forestry sector with a lot of room for development projects and investment. We also have a mining sector that is currently contributing to 34% of the exports of Rwanda, becoming a great asset for the economy of the country. In terms of water resources, there is a great potential for projects related to energy generation.

For all these areas, we are dealing with private investors, working side by side with the government in order to optimize the resources and really generate a positive growth.

As mentioned, the operations of the Ministry are based in 5 different sub-sectors. With which strategies does the Ministry of Natural Resources work in order to be present equally in each one of them? Which are the priorities for each sub-sector?

Each subsector has its own priorities, however, all of them are complementary in many ways. This is the reason why we have all these subsectors under the same ministry, to have an equal development on each one even though they are very different from each other. Mining, for example, could be considered as a destructive industry for the environment, so we make sure the mining activities in Rwanda are put in place accordingly to strict environment protection regulations. A plan is required from mining companies to explain how they will face environmental issues, such as the impact of their operations in rivers, land and population.

We are implementing the modern mines concept, which takes in consideration the sustainability of each project, focusing in the areas of protection and promotion, engaging every actor involved in order to achieve a more coherent operation system.

In other countries there is a consistent dialogue and interaction between the public and the private sector, for example with the creation of clusters or by granting concessions. Is this the case in Rwanda? How can these interactions be reinforced and what is the role of the Ministry to promote them?

We work with various stakeholders, private sector and ONGs, with different frameworks according to the needs and characteristics of each project, for example the Rwandan Mining Association or the Private Sector Federation and we also have several organizations focused on environment protection.

We are used to engagement on discussing the topics and matters we are facing to make sure we address them with the right authority. This way, maintaining a consistent dialogue whenever a new policy will be implemented, we are in direct contact with the main players involved in our sector and make sure we are putting in place the right legal instruments. There is a permanent dialogue, and this facilitates the implementation of new policies, and, of course, the development of the sector and its contribution to the country.

The Natural Resources is a sector that has been evolving quickly in the last decades. Currently, what are the main challenges the sector has to face and how does the Ministry manage to do it?

There are plenty of challenges, although we are in the right track to face them. First of all, we need to organize the legal and regulating conditions for investment, we need to keep improving in these areas to make sure the business environment is conducive.

But apart from the investment matters, the environmental issues are always challenging within this sector and, to face them, we need the proper resources. When we talk about environment, we need to put in order the legal framework to protect it; even if we have investment, we need to protect the environment.

Rwanda has an area of 26,338 km2 and it is known to be the most densely populated sub-Saharan African country, which makes it a land a valuable resources. What are your strategies to obtain a good optimization of it?

This is a fact, we do not have big land in terms of territory extension and therefore we must manage it properly. We need to have land for forestry, which currently represents 30% of the Rwandan superficies. We need land for agriculture and for housing, and we optimize it to make sure we can be efficient in all these areas. We believe the best way to achieve this is by creating land management plans and, for this matter; each district has a specific master plan in which the main activities are specified, discussed and approved.

When we talk about agriculture, we need to protect the soils, to make sure they are fit for long-term use, on the housing aspect, since the density of the population is very high; we are focusing on diversification in terms of housing to really take advantage of space.

When we look at your professional background, we find a long experience with leading roles on different areas such as Minister of Public Works, Transport and Communication, or president of the Rwandan senate, to mention some. When you look back at all these years of work, what do you feel most proud of?

I consider myself as an element in a big machine; I work with others and cannot single out anything. I haven’t achieved anything just by myself, always working with good teams and combining strengths we got to the success.

Being at the senate, being the ministry or working in the private sector, what makes me really proud is to be part of these teams that are having an impact in the country and that are improving the Rwandan population life conditions while we live together in harmony, facing the challenges we face today and overcoming them day-by-day.

To conclude the interview, Hon. Minister, our readers are interested in the Ministry itself but also in the leader behind it. What message would you like to send to the worldwide readers of eBiz Guides to invite them to come to Rwanda?

Rwanda is a business friendly country. It has the right policies; the right legal and regulating framework that makes us keep improving and moving forward.

We are ready to work with any investor at a partnering level in the natural resources sector and, even if we have the right conditions we take in consideration the feedback investors provide us with, we are open to adapt and improve to make Rwanda a top country to do business.